Softball team ready for league action

The first of three phases of the season is over for the Ramona High School softball team.

The Lady Bulldogs have finished their pre-league tournament phase and have just started phase two of the season, Valley League action. They are 5-12 overall and 0-1 in the Valley League.

Phase three is the CIF playoffs.

The team finished tournament play with a 10-0 win over Otay Ranch High School in the Falcon Fiesta.

Ally Harvey pitched a gem in a game shortened by the 10-run mercy rule. Harvey went the distance, pitching five innings of shutout ball. She limited the Mustangs to one hit, a single in the fourth inning, as she struck out two.

The Lady Bulldog defense played stellar ball and did not commit an error.

Ramona scored ten runs on only three hits as the Lady Bulldogs took advantage of 11 walks and two Mustang errors. Ramona scored five runs on only one hit in the second inning and received five walks and scored on a wild pitch and a fielder’s choice before Cassie Ford ripped a bases-loaded, three-RBI double to give the team all of the runs that it would need.

Lexi Slater delivered a two-RBI double in the third inning, and Kim Whelehon singled in the second.

Ramona opened Valley League action with a 2-1 loss to San Marcos on the road. Kellsie Domintz pitched well for Ramona as she scattered six hits and struck out two.

San Marcos scored two runs in the third inning. Ramona rallied and broke up a no-hitter for its lone run in the seventh inning as Courtney Fick scored after hitting a triple. Tory Roberts singled and advanced to second base but was stranded there as the game ended.

Fick and Slater lead the Lady Dawg offense as league play get underway. Fick is hitting a stellar .395 with a team-leading 13 RBIs and has hit four home runs and two triples. She has been hit by seven pitches.

Slater is hitting .383 with a team leading 18 hits. She has six doubles and two home runs. The only other Lady Bulldog hitting over .300 is Kim Whelehon, who is hitting .303.

The Lady Bulldogs have had trouble making contact as they have struck out 100 times. They are hitting .222 as a team.

Domnitz has been the workhorse of the pitching staff. She has pitched 57 innings and has a 3-8 record with an ERA of 3.30. Harvey is 1-2 and had a 3.34 ERA in 29 innings. Julie Ward is 1-3 with a 3.63 ERA.

As league play heats up, Mt. Carmel is by far the best team in the Valley League. The Sundevils are 15-3. Ramona is in the hunt for a playoff berth. Orange Glen is 9-9 and Westview is 7-7. San Marcos is 5-9. Oceanside is 4-10 and Valley Center is 3-4, according to MAXPREPS.